An Upcycled Write and Wipe Board

Well, happy National Craft Month everyone!  I kicked the month off with a fabulous little farmer's market this past weekend in Clemson, SC.  Let me tell you, it was cold!  But that didn't stop all the brave souls from coming out and supporting their local artisans and farmers.  And I knew it wouldn't, so planning, prepping and designing went on full steam ahead! 

This year, I am looking to upgrade my booth and I have lots of new things planned.  I still have quite the to do list, from sewing new table skirts to designing more vertical space.  But, I thought I'd share a little something that I was able to finish up for Friday's event:

It's a small "write and wipe" board that I used to mark my new spoon necklaces.  I used a wet erase marker to write on the glass of this old picture frame so it's easy to reuse for something else when I need to.  Here's what I started with:

I picked up a couple of old gold frames from Goodwill for $0.50 and $1.00 and then added some spray paint left over from a bird feeder project.  And speaking of leftovers, I had some fabulous pink textured fabric leftover from this pet bed:

Princess Bed Made from a Drawer

So, I cut a piece of fabric equal to the cardboard that slides into the frame and used a little spray adhesive to attach them (spray the cardboard, not the fabric).

Then I Just slipped that back inside the frame and was ready to rock and roll....or write and wipe anyways!  Doesn't that fabric add a neat texture without interfering with lettering? 

I think I might make a larger one for the grocery shopping list.  How about you?  Where will you use yours?

How to Sew an Upcycled Newpaper Bag

I've been feeling so neglectful of my blog this last week!  I've been super busy preparing for the kick off to craft fair season, I haven't had much time for anything else.  So as I sat behind my sewing machine yesterday sewing up shopping bags for my customers, I grabbed my video camera and shot a little tutorial.

I've seen lots of tutorials on how to make bags out of newspaper but most of them use staples or glue.  Since I'm using mine to wrap customers packages, I don't want to use staples and risk them slicing open a finger and I'm terrified the glue won't hold.  Behind the sewing machine I sat trying to devise a way to make a similar bag with a boxy bottom.   Here's my 99.9999% upcycled newspaper bag (everything, except the thread is upcycled):

The upcycled "ingredients" are newspaper, cardboard food boxes, T-shirt yarn (or scrap fabric, plarn, etc).  Of course you'll also need a sewing machine and the ability to sew a straight stitch.  Check out the video tutorial...and don't be put off by the 12 minute length.  It's really a simple process but I couldn't stop yammering on and on.

How do you package up your customer purchases?

A Little Upcycled Height for Your Craft Show Display

I've really had a blast this year making my patio-sized bird baths and feeders! Hauling and displaying them at craft shows has proven to be a bit more of a challenge, however, than my paper bead jewelry. While I can't do much about the hauling aspect of this new obsession, I was determined to find a way to add a little height to my bird bath/feeder display. I'm still working on finding additional ways to achieve the height that I'm looking for, but I did upcycle this old plant stand into a display stand for my smaller feeders:

All I needed to make this into a proper display was a few mirrors and epoxy. It really is as easy as mixing and applying the epoxy to the frame and setting the mirror onto the frame:

 

TIP: I use plastic lids for mixing my epoxy. Any excess will peel off the plastic once it's dry so I can re-use the lid over and over again (for crafting, I wouldn't use it to cover a container that has food in it).

Once your mirrors are dried into place, add your display pieces. I'm showing it with bird baths here but I think I might use it to display jewelry when summer is over.

 

Besides serving as the upcycled display I was looking for, what I really love about this stand is that it is somewhat collapsible making for easier packing into my tiny car. I had to apply the mirror pieces a bit off center but once the piece is open you can't even tell.